Russia welcomes the aspirations of Iran, Turkey, Georgia and a number of European countries to get involved in the restoration of the economy of Nagorno-Karabakh, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday at a joint press conference following talks with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif.
He emphasized that Iran, Turkey and Georgia are interested in rebuilding the economy of Nagorno-Karabakh. Moreover, there are initiatives that Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia, with the participation of Russia, Iran and Turkey, seek to build relations in the region taking into account a new reality. "The reality where there is no war, where there is an agreement to lift all blockades and other restrictions on a normal life in this very important part of the globe," Lavrov explained.
"In addition to Russia, Iran, Turkey, there are many people willing to get involved in the reconstruction of the economy of Nagorno-Karabakh and around it, including from European countries. I think this can only be welcomed. The main thing here is that all external players think first of all <...> that now it is very important to create and strengthen, make reliable and solid the economic foundation of the further life of this region," the Minister said.
"We have no doubt that the Islamic Republic of Iran will be interested in joining these projects. Russia will also directly participate in the efforts that arise from the agreements to unblock economic and transport ties, there are already concrete plans in this regard," the Russian Foreign Minister concluded.
Earlier, trilateral talks between the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia were held in the Kremlin at the initiative of Vladimir Putin. The participants reviewed the process of implementation of the joint statement on Nagorno-Karabakh on November 9 and discussed further steps to resolve existing problems in the region. At the end of the meeting, which lasted almost four hours, a joint statement on new infrastructure projects in Nagorno-Karabakh was signed and their implementation will be supervised by a trilateral working group at the level of deputy prime ministers.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Alexander Ryumin / TASS
Based on materials from TASS